Poison Ivy and a Weekend Surprise: REGRETS ONLY is here!

The bad news (for me) is that I have a RAGING case of poison ivy, which I got working in the backyard last week. I've always been allergic and our yard is full of the stuff, but this is definitely the worst reaction I've had. It's just gross. For some reason I also got hives simultaneously. So after days of scratching, swelling and ignoring Hubs' pleas for me to go to the doctor, I finally dragged myself in on Friday to get an antibiotic and steroid pack. Since the steroid regimen was supposed to start at breakfast and I picked it up around 4 p.m., I decided to play catch up and get all 6 pills in between then and bedtime. As we say to our boys, "Good idea, bad idea?"

The good news is, I had something to do with myself when I was up all night long! As a result, the formatting and preparations for publication for REGRETS ONLY are done much sooner than I'd planned. So... it's ready for you a few days early! To celebrate, I've decided to price it at just 99 cents for the first 24 hours or so, and then it will go up to the regular price of $2.99. I'm hopeful you will find it's well worth either price, but I wanted to reward my blog & Facebook followers with a deal! 

You can find it here. There might be a few little glitches with the first downloads, so please bear with me and let me know of issues you find.

REGRETS ONLY (Sequel to THE MARRIAGE PACT)

At thirty-three, Suzanne Hamilton has it all.  A successful party-planning business with an elite client list.  A swank condo in a hot Atlanta neighborhood and a close group of friends – especially her longtime best friend Marci. A list of men a mile long who have tried to win her heart and failed. Plus, she’s just landed the event that will take her career and social status to the next level. What could she possibly have to regret?

Then a freak accident changes everything, and Suzanne discovers that her near-perfect life is just a few steps away from total disaster. She is humiliated and at risk of losing it all… except the surprising support of her newest celebrity client. With nothing else to go on, Suzanne follows him into an unexpected job and unfamiliar territory. Soon she will question everything – her career, her past, her friendships, and even her own dating rules.

But when her catalog of past relationships turns into a list of criminal suspects, she is faced with the horrifying possibility that she may not live to regret any of it…

Countdown to REGRETS ONLY; Cover Art!

For those of you anxiously--no, wait, eagerly--awaiting a first glimpse at REGRETS ONLY (the sequel to THE MARRIAGE PACT), I'm happy to say you can get a little preview for free this weekend!

While I was finishing the sequel this summer, I also invested in some revisions to the original novel. Nothing major, for those who loved it, just cleaning up some editing errors and streamlining in a few places. I re-published TMP to amazon today, and while I was at it, I added the first two chapters of REGRETS ONLY at the end.

REGRETS ONLY Cover!
 (c) Marla Kaplan Design

But what about those who've already bought TMP? Well, I'm happy to say it will be offered for free from Friday - Sunday, July 27-29. So please re-download, re-enjoy, and don't feel bad about skipping to the end just to get started on REGRETS. :)

The full text of RO is scheduled to be out next Wednesday, August 1st. Make sure that you are following the blog or sign up for the email list to be notified when it hits the virtual shelf!

MJ & The Sunshine Blog

Well, hello everyone! I hope this post finds you having the most super-special day ever!! Are you having a great summer? I hope you're staying cool and working hard and battling against the forces of negativity with a gigantic smile, loud music and your usual razor sharp wit. Because YOU rock! That's right, YOU!!!

Hmm... It is juuuust possible that I had too much coffee this morning. Anyway, moving on!

I am so excited to report that very early Monday morning, while my little guys were eating Cheerios and watching "Curious George," I sent Regrets Only off to the proofreader, who is currently working her magic on all my typos and misplaced hyphens. Yay! I still have a few little minor tweaks to do when I get it back from her, but otherwise it will be ready to be formatted, uploaded and on its way to you by August 1. Don't you love indie publishing?

Since I have a week or so of down time, I am taking a deep breath and trying to hold back the tide of backlogged stuff that is now demanding my attention after being on hold for weeks while I finished writing. Plus I've been folding laundry, like, the SAME DAY it comes out of the dryer. Did you know you could do that? Turns out it doesn't need 48-72 hours to cool off!

Meanwhile, if you're one of those people who's been waiting and waiting and emailing me asking when the sequel is coming out, here's what is coming up:

1. TMP UPDATE: Sometime in the next week or so, there will be a revised version of The Marriage Pact e-book released. It's the same book as before, just a little cleaned up editing-wise. From what I understand, you can re-download the book to your device at no charge if you already purchased it. I will also be sure to offer it for free for a few days as well, so check back for that.

2. SNEAK PEEKS: At the end of the new TMP, you will find a couple of sample chapters of Regrets Only. You'll be able to start reading the book before it's even published! Also, the book jacket synopsis and cover art for RO will be out soon and posted here.

3. LAUNCH: Regrets Only should be available as an e-book on Amazon by around August 1st. (The paperback will follow shortly). My contest winners will get it in their hot little hands a few days before that. It will be priced a little higher ($2.99) than The Marriage Pact ($.99). All the feedback I've had so far is that you'll find it's worth every penny. I hope you agree!

4. LOVE: How is Marci doing three years after turning 30? Did she make the right choice about her marriage pact? Will the beautiful, notoriously picky Southern belle Suzanne ever find the right guy? Or will her life fall apart around her first? She may have more to worry about than missing out on a good man...


5. STAY TUNED: Keep an eye on this blog for the synopsis and a preview of the cover art. If you're not already FOLLOWING me here, please sign up at the left to make sure you don't miss anything. You can also join my email list to be the first to know about everything. I'm going to do a couple of fun little contests there and on Facebook.   


In summary, here are all the ways to keep up with me and the latest news...
Twitter: @MJPullen
Facebook: www.facebook.com/MJPullenbooks
Email updates: Sign up here http://mjpullen.blogspot.com/p/sign-up-win.html
Blog updates: <-- Sign up over there.

So if you miss out on a free book or a cool contest, or something completely witty from me, it's not my fault.

Have a sunny day!